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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24446296">Coming Home to You</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/DalishGreyWarden/pseuds/DalishGreyWarden'>DalishGreyWarden</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Fae Chronicals [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Original Works, Sons of Anarchy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Fae, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Angst and Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Shameless Smut, Smut</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 10:00:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>8,085</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24446296</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/DalishGreyWarden/pseuds/DalishGreyWarden</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Ashlyn Amarias, future Queen of the Court of Dreams, is running from the destruction of her home as the Blood Court destroys everything she cares about. Her dreams are pushing her towards her soulmate and while she's eager to meet him, she's worried about how it will affect her ability to take control of her life that's quickly spiraling out of control. Ashlyn has to find her way and the right path to take, potentially having to give up her bond with her soulmate to try and right wrongs that should never have occurred.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Chibs Telford/Original Female Character(s), Donna Winston/Opie Winston, Half-Sack Epps/Original Female Character(s), Happy Lowman/Original Female Character(s), Jax Teller/Original Female Character(s), Juice Ortiz/Original Female Character(s), Opie Winston/Original Female Character(s), Tara Knowles/Original Male Character(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Fae Chronicals [4]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1764178</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I could see my mate clear as day, just out of reach, unable to hear me calling out to him. It was the same dream every night, the same sense of longing as I struggled to wade across a sea of stars to get to him. And everytime we got closer to reaching each other, I would wake up, the dream fading away.</p><p>	“Damn it. Not again.” I sighed, running a hand through my hair. Just one night I wanted the dream to end after I got to my mate. I got up out of bed, gliding towards my bathroom so I could get ready for my day. Sprites, pixies, and fairies flitted through my room, giggling and speaking in Sylvan as they tugged gently at my hair and my nightgown, chattering happily amongst themselves as I started filling up my large bathtub. A silver pixie struggled to try and lift up one of my lavender scented bath bombs, finally getting it and dropping it into the tub with a gleeful exclamation, pointing at what she’d done, chittering at me with a huge smile.</p><p>     “Yes, I see. Thank you, little one.” I spoke to her as if she were a child, assuming she most likely was due to her smaller size than most of the others. She stood tall, a pleased look on her face, and she yelled at the others about what a good job she did. I chuckled, slipping out of my nightgown, and got into the tub, sinking down into the warm water, sighing happily. My dream was still there at the back of my mind, weighing on me as I soaked in the lavender scented water, half listening to the smaller fae giggling and talking amongst themselves, some of them trying to get me to engage with their gossip, tugging at strands of my hair and braiding them lazily.</p><p>     “Sorry girls, you’re right, I’m a little distracted right now,” I was apologetic for not being as upbeat as usual. “I just have a lot on my mind. So what’s this gossip you’re so invested in?” I listened to them talk about the latest going on in the Court, bringing up new grudges and scandalous affairs occurring. By the time I’d gotten out and dressed for the day, I knew of six new grudges between three different family lines, and two very scandalous affairs between two families that had sworn an alliance to each other and were set to marry other people.</p><p>     “Ashlyn, there you are. You’re needed in the throne room, the King and Queen have something they wish to discuss with you.” Deirdre, my personal attendant, curtsied as she greeted me when I stepped from my room.</p><p>    “Good, good, I need to talk to them anyway. What else is on the agenda for today?” I fell into step with her, taking the planner she had in hand, flipping it open to look over my schedule for the day. It didn’t look like I had much to do aside from attending a meeting with the representatives of the Court of Stars and Court of Winter to discuss rumors of trouble coming from the Court of Blood and Court of Bone. After that meeting, I would talk to my parents about my taking some time to go to the mortal realm to find my mate.</p><p>    “What’s going on?” Dierdre grabbed my arm, pulling me to the side when some of our soldiers went racing by, shouting orders to other soldiers they passed. I shrugged, unsure of what it could be. We’d been having issues with white dragons recently, it could very well have been another dragon attack with how frequently they’ve been happening.</p><p>    “Dragons again most likely. That’s part of our political talks today if I recall correctly. We need a way to deter them from their continuous attacks on not only us, but our allies as well.” I pulled Dierdre along with me to the throne room, apprehension growing as more and more of our soldiers went racing past, weapons at the ready. Dragons didn’t usually require this many of our forces, either there were more dragons than usual or something else was going on.</p><p>    “I don’t like this, Ashlyn. Something’s wrong.” Dierdre murmured, watching the activity going on around us as people were scrambling to get to safety.</p><p>     “Ashlyn!” I could see my father weaving through the soldiers, grim as he approached Deirdre and I. “The Court of Blood is attacking. You have to flee, get to the throne room and take the hidden passage between my throne and your mother’s. Get as far away from here as possible my little minnow. Take Deirdre and get to the Witchwoods and find your mate. Stay away from here until you hear from me.” He was holding my upper arms in his calloused hands, strands of greying blonde hair falling into his face from his disheveled braids, worry in his light violet eyes.</p><p>	“And if I don’t hear from you?” I swallowed hard, not wanting to even think of the implications.</p><p>	“Then stay away. Stay with your mate, lean on him for support. And whatever you do, do <i>not</i> let our enemies destroy you. Now go! Hurry!” He gave me one last hug before hefting his great axe up and going with our men and women to fight back the Blood Court invaders. Deirdre and I broke into a run, racing through the winding hallways towards the throne room. I could hear my mother shouting orders to the archers on the walls and on pegasi, hippogriff, and griffon mounts, commanding them to fire. I stopped by a window, eyes wide as I watched my mother and her hippogriff Tawny go flying into the midst of things, swooping and diving to avoid getting hit with arrows, javelins, even boulders.</p><p>	“Ashlyn, we have to go!” Deirdre tugged on my wrist, pleading with me to move. I turned away from the window, breaking out into a run again towards the towering crystal doors that led to the throne room, throwing the heavy doors open. Two soldiers were standing guard, nodding at us as we shut the door, bolting it with the huge diamond bar to make it harder for the bastards to get in.</p><p>	“My lady, the Queen left these supplies for you to use.” One of the soldiers held out a set of leather armor, a bow with a quiver stuffed with arrows, and two packs stuffed full of food, healing items and other various things that would come in handy. I took it without hesitation, stripping down to my underclothes so I could put my armor on.</p><p>	“Okay, I think we’re ready. Let’s go.” I slipped my backpack on and strode over to the thrones, tracing a special sigil in the air between them, waiting for the floor to slide back, revealing the hidden entrance that led to our escape route. As I stepped into the passage, there was a loud booming sound coming from the door and time seemed to come to a halt.</p><p>	“Go Ashlyn. We’ll hold them off. It’s been an honor to serve you.” Deirdre loaded her crossbow with a bolt, raising it towards the door.</p><p>	“What? No! You’re coming with me!” I snapped, reaching up to grab her hand and pull her with me. She’d been my best friend since we were children, I wasn’t about to let her sacrifice herself for me.</p><p>	“Nott guide your way my lady.” She traced the sigil again, sealing the door behind her, leaving me alone in the darkness.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Come on Clover, let’s go.” My pegasus was waiting impatiently in the stables, kicking at her stall door when she spotted me slipping into the barn. “We’ve got to get out of here as quietly as possible.” I didn’t bother grabbing any of her gear, throwing open her door and hoped she’d just follow after me. I didn’t have time to gear her up, I’d already taken a huge risk even coming here to get her, but I wasn’t willing to leave her behind to potentially be slaughtered or turned into some horrific monstrosity. I raised her from a foal and I couldn’t let her suffer some awful fate. She pranced behind me, snorting in my hair when I stopped to peek outside the barn doors, annoyed that I’d blocked her from going out. Nothing seemed to be around, so I opened the doors fully and climbed up onto her back, holding onto her moonlight colored mane, and gently kicked her sides, pointing her towards the Witchwoods. She broke into a gallop, charging towards the woods with an eager snort, following the familiar paths we took every day when we’d go out exploring.</p><p>	<i>Nott guide your way. Stay safe.</i> I glanced back towards the castle, hoping my parents would be able to push the Blood Court back. If they couldn’t, then we’d lose our home and I couldn’t bear the thought of losing this place, especially not to the Blood Court. They’d ruin it if they got their filthy hands on our home, turning it into some haven of filth or something equally awful. Turning back to look forward, I guided Clover through the winding paths of the woods, pushing her towards a path that I knew would lead us to the mortal realm, holding on tightly to her mane. She was ecstatic to be going for a run, racing along the dirt road, careful to avoid branches as best as possible so I wouldn’t get knocked from her back, which I deeply appreciated: the last thing I needed or wanted was a broken nose from getting hit with thick tree branches.</p><p>	“Shit!” I hissed when I heard shouting coming from the right of us. Two assassins had split off from the main attack and had followed us, their weapons at the ready as they raced towards us on very large black and red drakes. “We need to lose them. C’mon girl, we’re going off track.” I chewed on my lower lip for a second, debating on what to do, when I directed Clover to go into the woods and off the trail, hoping that the trees would prove more of a pain for their drakes to get through since they were far bulkier than Clover was. The sounds of crashing and swearing signaled my plan was, indeed, correct, and that they weren’t able to fit through this part of the Witchwood.</p><p>	The further into the woods we went, the more eerie it got; it was dark enough that the plants glowed with a creepy blue light and the animals were unfamiliar even to me. I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were being watched, shivers racing down my spine as Clover slowed to a trot, the foliage becoming harder for even her to pick through. But it thankfully sounded like we lost them, so that was at least something.</p><p>	“Well shit. Now what do we do?” I slid off of Clover’s back, taking a few steps ahead of her to try and find a path. Nothing really jumped out at me unfortunately, just tons of trees and plants that I had no idea what they were. I had always heard the rumors there were places that even the oldest of Fae had never explored in the Witchwoods, but I’d always considered them nothing more than stories. It looked like I was wrong.</p><p>	“Wait a moment, that path… that wasn’t there before. Where did it come from?” I spotted a strange looking pathway that had opened up behind Clover and climbed back up onto her back, nudging her towards it after getting her turned around. The further along the path we went, the less dense the woods were until the path went from dirt to pavement and Clover and I were out of the Witchwoods and on a road on the outskirts of a town called Charming.</p><p> </p><p>~*~*~</p><p> </p><p>	I’d thrown a glamour over Clover to make her look like a normal horse and got her boarded in a stable before making my way into town to find a place to stay. I didn’t have much beyond the clothes on my back and my bag of supplies, but thankfully I had the funds to get food and shelter, which was my biggest concern at the moment. I just wish Dierdre had been able to come with me; she had a cooler head in the face of panic and stressful situations. I had no idea where I was or where I was going, I just walked until I finally found a hotel.</p><p>	<i>Seems like a quiet little town for the most part. Wonder why the Witchwoods spat me out here though?</i> I pushed open the door to the hotel, slowly walking up to the front desk so I could get a room. Once I dropped my stuff off in my room, I sat there on the bed for a moment, finally getting the chance to process everything that happened. In a matter of hours, I’d lost everything I held dear to me and I didn’t know how to cope with that. I still clung to the possibility that they’d be okay and could stave off the Blood Court long enough for reinforcements to arrive from the Court of Stars or the Winter Court, but I wasn’t entirely hopeful nor was it realistic. My people were most likely gone and the only thing I could do about it was mourn them and take my home back from the filth that overran it.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Two hours later, I was still sitting on my bed in the same place I’d been. I didn’t know what to do with myself in a strange world I’d never been to before. I didn’t know how to dress, how to look or act, I didn’t know if I would even sound like these people if I tried to talk to them. But the sitting and staring and doing nothing was slowly starting to drive me mad. What was I doing here? Why did the Witchwoods bring me to this town? And my people, what was their status? Were they alive? Wiped off the map? Who knew? I should have stayed to fight with them. Instead, I fled like a complete coward, letting other people do the fighting for me. I wasn’t experienced in swordplay or archery really, but I could have found a way to help somehow.<br/>	A soft knock on my door drew me out of my own head, forcing me to get up and go see who was knocking, peering out the peephole just in case it was a ruse. Upon seeing Ivy, the woodland nymph who ran this hotel, standing outside with a cart, I opened the door and she came in with a cheery smile on her tan face.</p><p>	“I thought you might be hungry! I know you’ve been through a lot, so I brought up some delicacies from your Court. After you eat, I made you a reservation down at the spa for a full body massage, facial, and a mani/pedi combo. A little bit of self care always helps me feel better, so I thought you could use a little pampering.” She was talking a mile a minute, but I appreciated her.</p><p>	“Thank you. I’m not sure you know just how much this means to me.” I embraced her momentarily before stepping back so I could try to eat.</p><p>	“Of course! Just set the dishware outside the door when you’re done eating and a member of the staff will swing by to pick it up. Enjoy!” She beamed and wheeled the cart out after setting everything down on the pretty mahogany table in the corner of the room. I took a seat and stared down at the plate in front of me, looking over the roasted potatoes, asparagus and the dragon flank steak with disinterest. I wasn’t really that hungry but I supposed I needed to eat, so I dug in, moving on autopilot, not even really tasting the food. Chew, chew, swallow, repeat. I didn’t even bother touching the cupcake that she’d brought up with the food, not really wanting to try and eat anything else.<br/>	With a sigh, I grabbed the dishes, set them outside the door, and headed down to go check out the spa, wondering where I should stop first. The massage sounded heavenly, I ached all over from having to hide in cramped places from Blood Court assassins plus riding bareback which I never did. Ivy spotted me and waved me over to the front desk so she could show me where the spa was at, taking me right to a gargoyle who did the massages.</p><p>	“Hey, I’m Alistair. I’ll give you a couple minutes to undress to your comfort level and then we’ll get started.” He grinned after shaking my hand firmly and stepped out of the room to give me a chance to get ready. I slid out of my torn clothes and set them aside before sliding under the sheet on the table, waiting quietly for him to come back in. “Alright, you good to go?” Alistair popped back into the room moments after I got settled on the table under the sheet.</p><p>	“Uh huh.” I murmured quietly, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly.</p><p>	“Great, let’s kick things off then! I’ll get some relaxing tunes going and then I’ll start working on getting that tension out of your body.” He started up some new agey stuff on his ipod and grabbed some lotion, working it into his clawed hands before starting to work out the knots in my shoulders. I groaned a little, wincing as he targeted one particular knot in my right shoulder, and my face went pink when I realized how sexualized that groan sounded.</p><p>	“Sorry…” I gasped as he dug his claws in harder to that knot.</p><p>	“Nah don’t be. It happens. Listen, Ivy filled me in on what happened… I’m sorry to hear about your people. I don’t know too much about the Fae and the courts, but those Blood Court Fae sound like a bunch of real sons of bitches.” Alistair sounded sincere in his apology.</p><p>	“Thank you… and yes, the Blood Fae are monsters. They take children from their homes and destroy everything they touch. They don’t care about anything except for themselves.”</p><p>	“Whoa, they <i>take</i> children? What the hell for?”</p><p>	“The Fates cursed them to become barren for their selfishness. The only way for them to bear children of their own is to fix the wrongs they committed. Since that doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon, they’ll kidnap children from the other courts to raise as their own.” I ground out between grunts and groans as Alistair kneaded my back.</p><p>	“Shit that sounds pretty bad. And there’s no one in their court trying to fix things?” Alistair asked as he took a moment to get some more lotion.</p><p>	“Not that we’re aware of. There’s a chance there could have been but we’ll never know.” I spoke quietly, wondering if perhaps I was wrong about them. Maybe there actually was someone from the Blood Court who was trying to change things. We weren’t all inherently good or evil, I knew some Fae in my court who could be cruel to those around them, there were tales from the Winter Court of Fae who would strike out on small hunting parties and kill humans for sport, we weren’t infallible ourselves. We were just as capable of being cruel and capricious as anyone else. Who’s to say there weren’t members of the Blood Court who could be just as kind and caring?</p><p> </p><p>~*~*~</p><p> </p><p>	The full moon glimmered off the water of the pool, lighting the area up nicely as I dove into the warm waters, needing to spend some time swimming. It always cleared my head when I felt overwhelmed by things. The scales of my tail shimmered beautifully and I smiled a little bit as I admired the beautiful orange, white, and black appendage. My mother had said it was just like my great-great-great-great-great grandmother Harmony’s tail and that I was the spitting image of her. She had been a kind ruler alongside my great-great-great-great-great grandfather and I was proud to be like her.</p><p>	<i>There’s nothing better than spending time in the water. It’s calming and I feel at peace here. I only wish this was the beach so I could lose myself in the waves.</i> I swam deeper down into the specially made pool, swimming through the flora and fauna that resided here in the saltwater pool, feeling more at home here than up on land. I supposed the mermaid blood that ran in our bloodline was stronger with me than my parents anticipated. A sudden racket caught my attention and I looked up in time to see someone come crashing down into the pool, scaring the schools of fish away as they began to sink. With a flip of my tail, I cut through the water, catching the person easily, and started swimming up to the surface to get him to safety. The taste of blood caught my attention along with swirls of red and I cursed silently when I saw what looked to be stab wounds on his right forearm and his rib cage. I had to act quickly here and help him before he bled out. After getting up on the side of the pool, I dove back down as fast as I could to gather some seaweed, knowing that it would make a good temporary wrap for his wounds until I could get Ivy out here with a medical kit.</p><p>	“Oh dear, what happened?” Ivy had come running out as I popped up to try and help.</p><p>	“I’m not sure. I was swimming and suddenly this poor guy came crashing into the pool. It looks like he’s been stabbed.” I replied, hoisting myself up and out of the water, finding the task a tad bit difficult thanks to my tail.</p><p>	“Oh Happy, what have you gotten yourself into now? Can you perform CPR?” Ivy apparently knew the man as she went to fetch the medical kit, leaving me to tend to him. I got myself in position to perform CPR when the breath felt like it had been punched from my lungs. I knew his face, I’d seen it every night in my dreams. This was my soul bonded and he was in trouble. Swallowing back the fear that threatened to well up, I placed my hands on his chest and began compressions, going through the motions of performing CPR. He began to cough and rolled over, throwing up water, relief overwhelming me as he took a minute to orient himself before sitting up completely.</p><p>	“You’re okay! Easy, it’s okay.” I murmured in a soothing voice, taking his wounded arm in hand and wrapping it in the seaweed while I waited for Ivy to hurry up with that medical kit.</p><p>	“Okay, I’m here, sorry! I had to ask Alistair where the kit got moved to!” Ivy came hurrying up and handed me some gauze so I could wrap his arm better. I took it and the antibiotic ointment and carefully removed the seaweed, pleased to see it had stemmed the bleeding, and got to work fixing him up. “What the hell Hap? Why didn’t you come in the front door? You had to crash land in my pool?” Ivy scolded Happy once she was sure he was actually aware of what was going on and smacked him upside the head much to his annoyance.</p><p>	“I wasn’t expecting to land in the pool!” He shot back grumpily, looking away from Ivy towards me. I’d slid back into the pool at this point to try and stay out of the  way so they could talk, and I felt my back stiffen up at his critical gaze. “You’re the girl I’ve been seeing in my dreams.”</p><p>	I nodded, my words failing to help me out of this situation. I wasn’t expecting him to be so… well… scary. He softened immediately, seeming to pick up on my fear, and waved Ivy off so we could talk.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>I waited with baited breath for him to speak, watching him quietly as he studied me closely, a thoughtful look on his face while he took in my appearance.</p><p>	“You look different than I’m used to.” He finally spoke and I had to admit, it wasn’t what I was expecting to hear.</p><p>	“Ah… yeah… that’s the, uh, mermaid blood in me. It only ever happens when I’m in water. Well, saltwater anyway.” I rubbed the back of my neck nervously. He nodded quietly, still staring hard at me, not saying a word. I could see Ivy out of the corner of my eye watching us with worry on her face. That was concerning to say the least; she knew Happy already and if she was worried about leaving us alone to talk, then what was I supposed to think about him?</p><p>	“It’s a nice look on you. So, you got a name girl?” A very faint smirk touched his lips as he leaned forward a little to get a better look at my face.</p><p>	“Ashlyn Amarais. Is your name really Happy?” I leaned on the edge of the pool, peering up at him curiously. He broke out into a full grin at this point and nodded with a shrug of his shoulders.</p><p>	“Yeah.”</p><p>	He was clearly a man of few words. This was going to be an interesting relationship: I was usually a chatterbox, very social and bubbly and it seemed as if he was more quiet and intimidating as all hell. How this was going to work between us, I had no clue, but we’d figure it out. I hoped anyway.</p><p>	“Um… are you okay? You know, with the stab wounds and all that?” I rested my hand on his bicep, looking up at him with concern.</p><p>	“What, these? Yeah, this is nothing. I’ve had worse.” He shrugged again, blowing off the stab wounds like it was no big deal. I had no doubt that he had worse just looking him over, so I dropped the subject. A commotion caught our attention and we looked over to see Ivy talking to two men who were heading this way. I moved away from the edge of the pool and watched from a distance, unsure of anything happening right now.</p><p>	“There you are man! Jeez what the hell was all of that about?” One of the newcomers, a man with curly black hair and blue eyes, approached us, his attention entirely on Happy. The other man with him was shorter and a little heavy set but had a kind face and he shot me a quick smile before focusing on the other two again.</p><p>	“Hey those freaks are the ones who came after me. I was just defending myself.” Happy was grinning as he addressed the one who had spoken up first. While they were talking, I swam to the other side of the pool to talk to Ivy when I saw her motion for me to come over to her.</p><p>	“So what did Happy say? I’m assuming that you two are soulmates with the way he acted when he saw you.”</p><p>	“He was just asking why I looked different and what my name was. We could always see each other in our dreams, but we could never interact. I wasn’t expecting him to be so… well… intimidating honestly. And quiet. I’m not sure how things will work between us, I’m very much a social butterfly and a bit of a talker. He seems more reserved and quiet.” I glanced back at the guys, giving Happy a little wave when I noticed he was watching me.</p><p>	“Happy’s… well… yeah, intimidating’s a good word. Now don’t get me wrong, he treats the guys and people he cares about really well. He’s very caring and loyal, you won’t have to worry about him hurting you, but… there’s a reason he’s known as the Tacoma Killer. He <i>can</i> be extremely violent. Goddess help whoever tries to hurt you or anyone else he cares about because he will end the sorry son of a bitch who tries shit.” Ivy nodded sagely, glancing towards the trio.</p><p>	“Oh. Great.” I was even more apprehensive than before after hearing that. “I think I’m gonna finish my swim. This night has been getting weirder and weirder and I’m just not here for that.” I mumbled, Ivy giving me a little wave as I dove under the surface again, swimming down to the deepest part of the pool. It was beautiful down here; there were so many fish swimming around and tons of coral and plants, the colors bright and beautiful under the moon. I could see seahorses clinging to seaweed while angelfish darted in and out of the coral, and a dark shadow passed overhead, taking me by surprise. Looking up, I saw a hippocampus coming my way, sniffing in my direction curiously.</p><p>	“Oh! Hello!” I moved slowly towards it, holding my hand out for it to sniff. I giggled as it lipped at my fingers, deciding I was okay, and butted its head into my hand so I’d pet it. “Aw you’re so sweet!” I crooned, stroking its colorful face softly. A loud splashing sound startled the hippocampus and it fled towards a cave I hadn’t noticed before, snorting in fear. Happy was swimming down towards me, his sudden appearance startling the other fish into hiding as well, a sheepish look crossing his face as I swam up to meet him, eyebrows raised in amusement.</p><p>	“You scared my new friend away with your loud splashing, you know. C’mon, let’s go, you can’t hold your breath forever.” With a sigh, I took his hand in mine and started swimming towards the surface, popping up into the fresh air. “Wait here a second, I’ll be right back.” I dove back under the water, hurrying to that cave to see if I could find the hippocampus again. I felt my jaw drop upon entering the cave, staring in awe at the multitudes of gemstones encrusted in the rock that made the cave light up with a rainbow of colors. A whinnying sound dragged my attention away from the walls to a herd of hippocampi, my new friend swimming towards me eagerly.</p><p>	“There you are! I’m so sorry my friend scared you,” I stroked its nose, laughing when it nuzzled my cheek. “I know he feels bad about it, is it okay if he apologizes?” I waited to see its reaction. It snorted but started swimming past me towards where Happy was treading water, so I hurried after it so I could let Happy know what was going on so it didn’t startle him.</p><p>	“I see you brought your friend back,” Happy was chuckling as the hippocampus popped up, looking him over with big, green eyes.</p><p>	“I did. I told her you felt bad for startling her and that you would apologize.” I gave him a pointed look that had him fighting back a smirk as he looked back at the waiting hippocampus.</p><p>	“I’m sorry for scaring you. Friends?” He held his hand out and after a moment of studying him, she pushed her nose into his hand firmly. I pulled myself up onto the ledge of the pool so I could sit for a bit and take a bit of a rest. The hippocampus swam off back to her herd and Happy got out as well, settling in next to me.</p><p>	“So how long does that last?” He motioned to my tail, eyeing it curiously.</p><p>	“Until I’ve dried off. So I usually end up relaxing poolside for a while and keep my tail up on the concrete or a chair if I can get to one.”</p><p>	Happy got to his feet and scooped me up into his arms, carrying me over to one of the oversized swings and sat down so my upper half was resting in his lap while my tail hung over the edge of the swing. I lay there quietly as he ran his fingers through my wet hair, carefully detangling it, neither of us saying a word, just enjoyed the moment of being together.</p><p>	“You’re falling asleep, let’s get you up to your room.” Happy’s voice was quiet and I nodded a little, allowing him to help me up to my feet, briefly wondering just how long we’d been in that swing before turning my thoughts back to getting to bed.</p><p>	“M’kay. I need to shower before I sleep though, I don’t wanna go to bed covered in salt water.” I yawned, stretching my arms above my head, and grabbed my things before leading the way back inside the hotel. Ivy gave us a little wave and a good night as we passed her, heading up the winding staircase up to my room, eager to shower off and then crash for the night. “Are you staying?” I glanced over at Happy, wondering if he was just going to walk me to my room and leave.</p><p>	“Yeah, I thought that would be obvious.” He shot back with a smirk, his arm draping over my shoulders to pull me closer to him.</p><p>	“Okay sass master, relax.” I snorted while unlocking my door, yelping as he smacked my ass with a playful grin on his face. I stuck my tongue out at him, giggling as he hugged me tightly, his chin resting on the top of my head. He was intimidating as hell, but seeing this side to him was sweet and I felt far more secure about us than I did before.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“So I thought you were pure High Fae?”</p><p>	Ivy and I were out at the pool where I was getting in my exercise for the day to kill some time before I was supposed to meet with Nyx and the other girls to start discussing our next move in dealing with the damages done to my court as well as Danica’s when she brought up my heritage, watching me with a curious look on her face.</p><p>	“I am. But I do have mermaid blood on my mother’s side of the family. My mother is the Queen regnant while my father is the Prince consort. He came from one of the noble houses in our court whereas my mother is from the royal family. My great-great-great-great-great grandfather fell in love with the grand princess of one of the mermaid royal families from a neighboring kingdom in our lands. They got married and well, here we are.” I motioned casually to my tail with a shrug. Ivy opened her mouth to say something, when Danica came power walking towards us, a strange look on her face.</p><p>	“We have a problem. A big one.” She kicked her shoes off and sat by Ivy, dipping her feet into the water.</p><p>	“What’s going on? Is it Keres? Did she already betray us?” I immediately tensed up, my stomach knotting up with worry.</p><p>	“No, no I don’t think so. This is about that ATF agent, June Stahl. Y’know how she’s been poking around trying to find some sort of dirt on the guys and the rest of the club? Well now she’s looking into us. Er… okay, maybe not you Ashlyn since I don’t think anyone’s seen you and your soulmate together out in public before. It’s Happy right?” Danica glanced my way and I nodded. Happy wasn’t around too much, splitting his time between being here in Charming and in Bakersfield taking care of his mom.</p><p>	“We haven’t really known each other long. It’s only been a couple weeks. And even then, we’re not together in public. I don’t think they’d have any proof of me even existing.” I bit my lip, worried about how this was going to play out. We already had enough on our plates without adding this to our situation.</p><p>	“She came by Juice’s place this morning asking a bunch of questions. And she’s been actively trying to dig into who we are, like doing actual background checks.” Danica glanced over to Ivy when she said that, her face grim. “Of course now she’s even <i>more</i> suspicious because we don’t have anything: no ID, no birth certificates, not one thing. I’m worried we’re going to have our world exposed to the human world.”</p><p>	“Fuck. No wonder Kip’s been asking me to stay here. He’s been acting strange lately and I couldn’t figure it out, but this explains so much.” Ivy’s emerald green eyes were dark with fear.</p><p>	“What do we do? How do we handle this? We can’t risk our world being brought into light, the humans would panic. We got lucky that our soulmates didn’t freak out about us.” I was anxious, humans didn’t even like their own people if they were perceived as different. What would they do to us if we were exposed?</p><p>	“Oh, no, Chibs totally freaked out. He waited until he was out of earshot of Rusalka, but he definitely freaked. He’s from Scotland and lived in Ireland, the stories they have about us? I mean, okay, not <i>totally</i> wrong, but definitely not one hundred percent accurate either.” Danica was grinning from ear to ear as she talked about how Chibs responded to us. “But you’re right, Ashlyn. I’m not sure we’d receive a warm welcome by the people here, especially if they knew about the Blood Court and the Court of Bones.”</p><p>	We traded looks, Ivy and Danica agreeing softly about those two courts. This meeting would be the first time we’d be interacting with Rusalka and Keres and I wasn’t exactly thrilled by the idea of working with them, especially Keres. Danica looked just as thrilled about it as I did judging by the slight scowl on her face.</p><p>	“Ivy, I’m gonna need to get a room. Juice wants me hidden away here just in case Stahl tries to pull some shady shit. We need to lay low until all of this blows over.”</p><p>	“Shit. Here we go.” I murmured, catching a glimpse of Keres and Rusalka coming our way. Keres looked absolutely furious, talking quietly with Rusalka, who looked less than pleased as well.</p><p>	“Have you guys been questioned by this ATF agent yet?” Keres demanded as they got closer, Danica and I trading knowing looks.</p><p>	“Yup. Just had an encounter with her this morning. I take it by that shining attitude of yours, you met her too.” Dani moved over so she could sit down.</p><p>	“She reminds me of my mother. Do you have any idea how unsettling that is to see in a human?” Keres shuddered, her reaction surprising.</p><p>	“Oh? You mean that’s not comforting to you?” Danica’s voice was scathing as she looked at Keres, her face twisted into a sneer.</p><p>	“No. It’s not. Are we gonna have a problem? If you’ve got something to say to me, I suggest you do it.” Keres snapped right back, glaring back at Danica. Ivy immediately backed up, giving the two some room and I was grateful to be in the pool right at this very moment. Danica looked like she was about to throw down, Keres squaring up to defend herself from the furious Star Fae.</p><p>	“I’ve got a lot to say actually. What sort of game are you playin’ at here, Blood Court? Your kind doesn’t just turn traitor at the drop of a hat, so what’s the deal? Did mommy make you angry so you decided to run off in a tantrum?”</p><p>	Keres cocked her arm back and slugged Danica in the jaw, her lips peeled back to bare her fangs in a vicious snarl. Danica spat silvery gold blood onto the ground, a feral grin on her face, bloody spit dripping down her chin, and she dove at the Blood Fae, tackling her around the middle, the two of them crashing to the ground. Ivy screamed, scrambling back to get out of their way while Rusalka hooted and hollered, laughing like a mad woman and cheering.</p><p>	“I can’t see what’s happening, but it sounds hilarious!” She was giggling her ass off, dropping down into a cushy lounge chair, listening intently to the fighting.</p><p>	“I’m not playing at anything! I didn’t agree with the choice that was made to attack your people! Hell I even sent my friend Kiril to try and <i>save</i> your people!” Keres was just as furious as Dani was, her crimson eyes a blazing inferno. Danica didn’t even respond, roaring in anger and jumped Keres, digging her fangs into the other Fae’s shoulder. She let out a shriek of anger and pain, grabbed Danica’s hair and ripped back, pulling her forcefully off and kicked her in the gut, sending her flying back before pouncing on her, getting in a few good punches.</p><p>	“Hey! Break it up!”</p><p>	“Shit!”</p><p>	My head whipped towards the new voices shouting at us, a group of men coming up to separate Danica and Keres, one man who towered over the girls yanking Keres up and back like she weighed nothing, while the other one, a guy with tribal tattoos on his head yanked Danica back, holding her in his arms tightly.</p><p>	“What is going on?” Nyx came pushing through, disbelief all over her face as she looked between Dani and Keres.</p><p>	“She started it.” Keres ground out, spitting black blood from when Dani got in a good sucker punch. Nyx looked back and forth between the two, brow furrowed and her lips turning down into a frown. While they argued, I swam to the far end of the pool when I saw Happy slip away from the others, smiling at him as he took a seat by the edge of the pool.</p><p>	“You alright? You didn’t get caught in the middle of that did you?” He reached down to gently touch my cheek, looking me over for any marks.</p><p>	“I’m okay, I was in the pool when it happened,” I reached up to hold his hand, a reassuring smile on my face. “It’s sweet of you to worry. Really, I’m okay. I think all of our nerves are just a little shot right now. We’re getting ready to have to work with someone who’s family is responsible for our families deaths and it’s… hard. I know it isn’t Keres’ fault, but… Danica… well… she blames Keres as much as the rest of them. And it’s hard to not feel a little resentment towards her. Plus that agent that’s poking around, asking questions, digging into the others? That’s not helping any. If she keeps pushing, our world will be exposed beyond yours and that can’t happen. Humanity isn’t ready to know about us.”</p><p>	Happy didn’t say anything, just kissed the palm of my hand softly, and we turned our attention back to the rest of the group, waiting to see what was going to happen.</p><p>	“We have bigger problems right now! Settle your issues later, today isn’t the day for this. And Natalya, egging them on certainly doesn’t help. Ashlyn’s the only one here who hasn’t been interrogated by Agent Stahl since she and Happy haven’t been seen together in public. The rest of us are in big trouble if she keeps pursuing this, our people could be dragged into the light, shown that we’re not just stories, myths, made up monsters to keep children in line.” Nyx kept her voice calm, her demeanor cool, but under the surface anger was brewing. Too many things were going on and none of it was any good for us or for the guys. Tensions were riding high, nerves were frayed, and we were all stressed out about these new situations we were shoved into. Between having to get used to living in the mortal realm, we were trying to figure out our places here and our relationships with each other, our soulmates, and the rest of the club.</p><p>	“Fine, okay, whatever.” Danica grumbled, pushing away from her mate to walk away, her mate following her so he could inspect her wounds from Keres. Keres didn’t respond, just quietly sat down on a chair, glaring daggers at Danica, her shoulder bleeding heavily from where Danica had ripped into her with her fangs.</p><p>	“You want to beat each other senseless? Fine, you’ll have your time. Right now though, I need you two to act like the royalty that you are and not some common Fae fighting for scraps. The only way we are going to survive all of this is by working together. Something big is coming and if we don’t get ahead of whatever it is, we are <i>all</i> going to be pulled under and crushed.”</p><p>	Danica and Keres sat quietly, unable to meet Nyx’s stern gaze, shame burning their cheeks and ears a bright red. She was right and we knew it; things were going weird fast, not just with our stuff, but Sam Crow’s shit too. I didn’t really know where we fit into all of that, the whole situation was becoming more muddled and confusing.</p><p>	“Ash, you’re a weird purple color. I’ve never seen you go that color before. Are you alright?” Happy’s voice was in my ear, a hand on my shoulder bringing me back out of my thoughts.</p><p>	“Uh… y-yeah, no, I’m okay. This is just… a lot to process.” I muttered, putting my hands up on the ledge of the pool and hoisting myself up so I could dry off. Happy got to his feet and hoisted me up into his arms.</p><p>	“We’ll be back in a while.” Happy grinned as he sauntered past everyone, my cheeks flushing with embarrassment at the hoots and suggestive commentary that followed after us.</p><p> </p><p>~*~*~</p><p> </p><p>	“What’s your take on everything going on?” Happy murmured, running his hand gently over my shoulder while I nestled in close to him, my head on his chest. My head was so crammed full of so much stuff and I didn’t really know what to make of it all really.</p><p>	“It’s a lot. Between losing my Court and having to adjust to being here, not to mention figuring out my place here… it’s just… weird. It’s a weird time,” I sighed softly, looking up at him. “Plus figuring out us. I know we’re soulmates but… I don’t know. I don’t know you. I know we have fun when we’re together when you’re here, doesn’t mean I know you, though.” I’d sat up enough so I could look him in the eyes, studying his face closely. I liked Happy, I could even say I’d love him in time, but I didn’t <i>know</i> him.</p><p>	“What do you wanna know?”</p><p>	“Those smiley faces… Do they represent how many people you’ve killed?” I traced over the ones closest to me, Happy staring at me with raised eyebrows.</p><p>	“Not exactly where I expected this to go, but okay. Yeah, they are.” He chuckled, smoothing my hair back out of my face. “You sure these are the kind of questions you wanna ask?”</p><p>	“If this is going to work and we’re going to be a thing, I want to know everything. I don’t want to be kept in the dark about things going on.” I knew what I was asking. I just wasn’t sure if I <i>should</i> be asking or if I even wanted to actually know the answers.</p><p>	“I don’t want you involved with the club. Shit’s dangerous babe.” He sighed, resting his forehead against mine.</p><p>	“I know that, Hap. I’m not stupid. I’m bright and bubbly, I wear girly clothes and bright makeup, I probably seem far more innocent and naive than I actually am, but I can promise you that that’s not the case. I’ve been privy to a lot of horrific stuff, witnessed things that would make even your skin crawl. I can handle it.” I got up, walking away from the bed, unsure of what to do here. I could hear him getting to his feet, sighing softly as he wrapped his arms around me, his chin resting on my shoulder.</p><p>	“Alright. Full disclosure then. I’m giving you one last out: are you absolutely sure this is something you want to hear about?”</p><p>	“Am I sure? No. Not even a little. Do I need to know? Yes, I really do.” I swallowed hard, bracing myself for what was about to pass.</p>
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